According to a report from the Chilean Citrus Committee under the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association ASOEX, the 2021 lemon export season has begun. Chile’s lemon exports this season are expected to be 98,000 tons, an increase of 3% compared to the previous season.
The harvest of several lemon varieties Messina, Eureka and Genoa began in week 15 (April 12-18), and the first export shipments were carried out in week 19 (May 10-16). As of the 21st week (May 24-30), a total of 4,029 tons were exported, of which about 63% were sold to Asia and 37% were sold to the United States. Compared with the previous season, the cumulative shipments in the 21st week increased by 16%.
It is understood that Chile's citrus planting area is about 22,000 hectares, distributed in the fourth to sixth regions. Among them, 7376 hectares are lemons, and the main varieties are Eureka, Fino 49, Messina and Genoa. The growing area of Chilean lemons is not affected by Mediterranean fruit flies, so fruit exports do not need to be refrigerated, which helps maintain the quality and hardness of the fruit and greatly reduces the spoilage rate.